I was recently at the airport sending a friend off on a flight and couldn’t help but notice the intense level of scrutiny the Transportation Safety Administration officers gave each passenger. Every piece of luggage, purses, briefcases, shoes, and even a walk-through detection unit…and if you were “lucky” enough you got a very up-close and personal pat-down search. I wondered if such examination were applied to our actions, character and daily lives what would happen?
Do we go through life doing what we do and saying what we say without examining ourselves against a standard? Sure, it’s a little different when you are looking for a shoe bomb or a gun, but isn’t the principle the same. Does it really matter that you are looking for that line item fudge on your tax return or the thoughtless and hurtful comment to your co-worker? What if we put our lives through the same level of scrutiny with each day that the TSA does when you board a plane?
I don’t think change or growth is possible without taking the time to first examine the real facts of what we do and who and what we are. I believe God examines us pretty closely, but we, out of a sense of self-preservation, shame and just plain laziness, ignore our failings and shortcomings. Often, we can’t stand the truth. But, if we can’t sit down and face the fact of who we are and what we do that is not good for us and those around us, how can we ever hope to change.
I believe God gives us the strength to change and move on, and He gives us the right to forgive ourselves so that we don’t continue to beat ourselves up for our failings. He also gives us the challenge to be His voice, hands and feet to the world every day in every situation.
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